Happy Birthday Leah

My little Lulu turned 1!!! How did this happen; she grew up way too fast. We celebrated her birthday on Sunday May 31st, although her birthday was actually Wednesday June 3rd. We had a house full of grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins. However, like most one year olds, she was quite oblivious to the fact of her birthday, although she really seemed to enjoy the cake. I made a little purple Carebear cake for her: chocolate of course because it is her favorite.

Leah was thrilled to have her own cake and ice cream and dove right in. At first she would just bend her head down to her cake and bite it but then she just decided to grab the whole piece and go for it. The ice cream was too cold for her to hold, but she loved it when I fed it too her with a spoon.

I shopped all over to find just the right baby doll for my baby. At Toys R Us I was pulling them off the shelf to look at and she grabbed this one out of my hands and started giving it kisses. "That is the one", I knew. She loves to touch her baby's eyes and mouth and will hug and kiss her. She takes her baby to bed every night.

Nana and Papa Fife gave her this fun little ride-on toy. Papa Fife picked it out. Leah will ride on it and say "Whee!!" as Abi and Tal push her around the house. But this is her favorite, walking behind it. Abi and Tal help her turn corners and get unstuck from the walls that she drives into. The morning after her party she figured out how to pull up and walk behind it. She walked around and around the circle of our kitchen, dining room and living room. I was sure that her little legs would be sooo tired from all of the walking. But if you stopped her she would squeal and squeal to go again.

Although Leah is growing so big, she is still my skinny little baby. At her Dr's appt she was 30 inches tall ( 80%) but only 17 lb 6 oz ( 4%). She had her shots that day as well but I kept up on the Tylenol and we got by with only a little fever and fussiness. She is also cutting teeth and coping with allergies so runny noses and crankiness and just a part of our days and especially our nights right now. Leah finally has enough hair to put up in little piggy tails. The hard part is keeping them in. However she likes to watch herself in the mirror and chew on her toothbrush while I do her hair in the morning. She has also learned to say "No, No" and will point her little finger at you and wave. Leah adores being outside and will squirm, wriggle, scoot and cruise to get outside. She suprised me by scooting down the stairs the other day, face first no less. Thankfully I caught her and got her turned around so we could try a safer way. She is sooooo close to walking. She loves to hold onto my fingers and walk me all around the house or outside. She can stand by herself for a few seconds but then chickens out and sits down. Kris and I had her walking between us the other night and she would take 2 or three little running steps before falling down. What a sweet baby!!!

Leah at 11 months

I can't help myself. Leah is just too darn cute not to blog about. She turned 11 months this month and I want to know where has my little baby gone. She is growing up way too fast. ( Sad pouty face). She is adorable though. This is the grin she gives when she is excited about something, like she is running along the couch while I back up trying to get her picture. Yes, I said running. She loves to cruise along the furniture and pull up on everything. She will walk with you if you hold her hands and even stood by herself for a few seconds this morning. Then she got scared and sat down but we all cheered and clapped our hands for her, "Yeah Leah" which makes her grin and clap her hands for herself as well.
Leah is my little explorer. She loves to investigate everything from the garbage to dirt and plants. :) She adores the phone and will hold it to her face and babble. Leah does say a few words including: Mom, Dadoo ( for Dad), Leah, Abi, Peek-a-boo, thank you, and Uh-oh. Uh-0h usually accompanies throwing her food on the floor or knocking all of the soaps and toys into the tub. She also signs "I love you" by opening and closing her fists like a wave. It started with Kris waving at her at night and saying " Na-Night, I love you." So if we say "I love you" to her she will wave her little fists at us.
Oh, the adventures in eating. Leah is pretty independent in feeding herself but I can usually feed her her cereal and maybe some fruit like peaches or pears. But this particular morning she wanted to do it ALL by herself. She started out OK with the spoon but soon resorted to her fingers, ( it was faster.) We had cereal EVERYWHERE!!! She eats so many foods now but favorites are cheese, yogurt, noodles, and strawberries.
Leah loves to be outside. She will scoot over to the sliding glass door that leads to our deck and outside and pull up on it. If I get the sunscreen out she will sit so still while I put it on, even though she wriggles like a slippery eel for her normal face lotion. She loves grass and plants and dirt. She kept digging in my garden boxes while I was trying to plant. Leah loves to get on the trampoline and have us softly bounce her. Swinging is also a favorite, she will squeal as the wind blows through her hair and she swings forward. Unfortunately swinging makes mom nauseated, ( side effect of past pregnancies) so we can't do that for very long. Leah gives the best hugs and even open mouthed little wet kisses that I just love. How lucky I am to be a mom.

Abi Turns 8!!!

How did my baby get so big and grown-up? Abi is growing into a bright, beautiful, thoughtful, helpful, kind, articulate, and creative big girl. She is so excited to be 8 and be baptized soon,
( June 6th). She is also looking forward to getting her ears pierced after soccer is over. She is becoming more interested in clothes, hair and jewelry. Abi loves ballet and everything pink. She is a fantastic reader and excels in school; she is in the Discovery Program for Gifted and Talented. She enjoys reading, riding her bike, playing with friends, playing on the computer especially Webkinz, taking care of Leah and likes to help me cook. She is also becoming quite the little pianist and can play simplified Primary songs for us at FHE.
For her birthday she wanted a new bike and this one is awesome. It is a Mongoose freestyle so she can grow into rougher riding and tricks if she so desires. And of course it is a lovely pink for my girl. We took her out for pizza at Craigo's on Saturday then celebrated with family on Sunday. She requested a flower cake and also had a flower pinata'. On Monday, Nana and Papa Fife took her out to Leo's and shopping for some new clothes with her birthday money. She picked out the cutest top and skirt as well as capris. Nana said she was a great little shopper and with mom's coupon got an awesome deal on the 3 items. Abi says she's saving the rest for another Webkinz and some earrings.
Abi also competed in a " No Bullying" poster contest through her school. Out of all of the 2nd graders in Idaho Falls, she won second prize. She wrote a poem and then drew a very nice picture which she artistically outlined in marker and then shaded in crayon. ( At least that's what she told me. :) ( Spelling and capitalization as in original.)

STOP BULLYING!
Everyone can do it easy.
Keep you're hands to you're self.
Stop and think befor you say it
SO STOP BULLYING NOW!!!

I love you Beans!

Soccer Mom Saturdays

Remember the days when Saturday morning were for sleeping in and lazing about.

Now they are for sitting on the sidelines, freezing - wrapped up in blankets, and cheering so loud and long for my kids that my voice gets hoarse. Tal and Abi are both playing AYSO Spring Soccer again this year and having a great time. Tal's team "The Fireballs" is coached by his dad, Kris. His skills are improving as is his sportsmanship. He kicked his first goal last week so I owe him an ice cream cone.

Abi's team, "The Green Goblins" are tearing it up this year. Abi is a real fiesty player, going after the ball on offense and defense. She loves to play forward and goalie. She has a really strong kick and has scored several goals as well as made goal scoring assists. She has quite the leg on her.


Leah and I hang out and cheer although she likes to scoot around and explore most of the game.

Hoppy Easter

Matchy, Matchy - I know it's so cliche' but what can I say. I want to take family pics in May when the weather is nicer outside so our outfits will serve double duty. I couldn't find matching dresses anywhere so at my sister's suggestion I broke down and made them. Now, I am not much of a seamstress so simple dresses turned into a huge project but at least they look cute. I made my skirt as well, another "Easy - 1 hour" pattern that took at least 5 hours, not including the hemming. Thanks to my mom for putting the zipper in for me.

We had a great time dyeing our eggs this year. We even tried some new techniques with stickers which gave us polka dot eggs. Cool. The kids were spoiled with 2 egg hunts by their grandmas and earned lots of candy and jelly beans for mom. :)

Over General Conference weekend Kris's cousins Erica and Angie came up from Las Vegas and Utah respectively to visit Grandma Hayes. Here are all of the great-grand kids, minus Emily Monk. They had a wonderful time playing all together and were nearly spastic over the Easter Egg hunt. Nana Meek - Jana, bought the girls all matching High School Musical shirts. The boys received other shirts and remote control cars which they had running everywhere.

The Saturday before Easter was cousin Gabby's baptism. What a special day for her. Tal and Sterling ended up with matching Easter suits, Kalene and I must have been on the same wave length. The girls all have the same style of smocking dresses although Kalene is a much better seamstress and added sleeves. We also had an Easter Egg hunt courtesy of Nana Fife and the kids were all spoiled royally.

10 Months and Soooo Adorable

Leah is the light of our family. I can't believe that my baby is growing up soooo big. She has the sweetest temperament and is learning and doing so much every day. Leah gives great kisses and hugs, especially after family prayer and on waking up from her naps. She still scoots around the house but she is really fast now. She is starting to pull up on everything: the couch, the chairs, Mom's legs are a favorite. But then she gets stuck and can't get down so she will start squealing. You can always tell where Leah has been because she leaves a little trail of destruction. A typical 20 minutes includes unloading the bathroom cupboard, unloading the bookshelf, unloading the DVD's from the entertainment center, unloading the magazine rack, and pulling off all of the CD's from under the computer desk. And if I ever get out of sight she will scoot around the house saying, "Mom, Mom."
Leah also has quite the independent streak. She decided that she didn't like to sit in her big high chair and would stand up in the middle of eating. So we moved to this little high chair which she seems to like better. She prefers to feed herself and when she is done she will throw the rest of her meal on the floor. If I shake my head and say "No, No" she will smile and shake her head back at me. Her favorite foods are macaroni and cheese, peaches, peas, cheese and yogurt. Tonight Kris gave her a drink of his punch and when he took his cup away she squealed and put up a fuss until she received several more drinks, ditto for an after dinner cookie.
Her hair has started to curl on top, to my delight, and I like to put gel in it and curl it up. Leah likes to look in the mirror while we do this but then she likes to run her hands through her hair and make it all crazy. She is fascinated with the baby in the mirror. I put her in front of our long mirrored closet doors and she likes to grab for and even kiss the baby in the mirror. She says Mom, Dadda, and Leah well and consistently now. Her new word is Abi, although she won't say it on command, she just likes to babble a conversation. Mom made her an Easter dress, you'll see more on the next post, and she loved finding the eggs at the Easter Egg Hunt. I hope I don't curse myself, but we are winning the war on naps and bedtime. She goes down really well most days, however we are still nursing 2x a night. Hopefully as we get closer to a year we will cut down to one. However, I don't mind spoiling her a little, OK a lot, and just love ( most of the time) this fleeting time when she is little.

Road Trip to my Jerusalem Center Reunion

This past weekend was my BYU Jerusalem Center 10 year reunion in Provo. I had not been on a road trip since we went to Boise when Kris was sworn into the Idaho State Bar. Sadly, in the past year the furthest I have ventured outside of Idaho Falls was to the St. Anthony Sand Dunes for family pics. So Kris and I decided to make a little adventure of our road trip and hit a few fun places on the way. Our first stop was Moochies Meatballs and More, made famous by one of our favorite Food Network Shows "Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives." Philly Cheese steak - Awesome!!! Silly me though, I forgot to take our pics in front. We also hit an Asian market, drove by the construction next to Temple Square, strolled around Gateway Plaza, shopped at the Blue Chip Group and stopped at the Disneyland for Outdoorsmen - Cabellas. ( Did you know you can have your birthday party at Cabella's? Seriously.)

Next stop, my reunion at the Hinckley Alumni House at BYU. Beautiful by the way. I had so much fun catching up and reminiscing with my friends. Some of them came from so far away, I was amazed.
Here are my lovely roommates Amy and Rachael. ( Carli we missed you.) Love the red hair - It wasn't exactly supposed to be red but we went with it and had a great time anyway.
Here are some of my best friends from the JC - Vann, Rachael, (Me), Lloydell, Mindy, and Liz. Michelle and Carli we really missed you and I'm not sure where Jenny snuck off to for the pic. What wonderful memories I have of my time in Jerusalem and the testimony that grew there. Thanks to my wonderful husband who drove us down and back, chatted up my friends, and let me sleep on the way home.